Friday, 17 August 2012

Wintery Birthday box

August Blog Party - "Birthdays"

Is it Friday already?!

Hello again my friends. Can't believe how fast the week has whizzed past. It's been a mixed bag of good and bad news for us this week. Good: we got the house fixed-up, so no more scrambling with pot & pans when it rains! Bad: they discovered numerous other "small things" to fix = more money. Good: cat's appetite is at its peak. Bad: cat's constipation is at its peak. Good: it finally rained. Bad: 3 wet dogs...urgh ... off to the vet for a wash and blow-dry.

Enough whinging, here's the real reason for this post: a birthday gift box I made for a friend. Earlier this week I met her for a quick coffee and we got to talking about doing something for her up-coming 40th birthday. Most of her friends are away on vacation so it will have to be a low-key affair. I felt sad for her but she said she's used to it. It's how she remembers all her birthdays. When she was young all her friends were away in August, just as they are now. According to her December would be the best time to have a birthday. Why? Because "nobody goes anywhere, party decorations are everywhere and people are kinder." Well, I'm not sure about the last bit :-)

We're having a low-key do over at her place this evening and I made this wintery box to house her gift. Hopefully she'll know that I heard her desire for a December bash! In a short while my entry for this month's Waltzing Mouse Blog Party will actually be on it's way to a Birthday party.

Here's the ariel view of the box. It measures 4" across, 3.5" down and the sides are 2" wide. I used dies by Nellie Snellen and Marianne Designs for the box.

The box is 1.5" tall, just enough room for the brooch I got her.

Here's a close-up of the flower on top of the box. You may recognise it as a poinsettia.... and you'd be right! I've used Tim Holtz inks and Stickles to jazz it up.

I didn't want to clutter the outside of the box, so the greeting got relegated to the inside. I've used a stamp from WMS Compact Sentiments and Memento ink.

I wanted to add texture to the card and give it a snowy look, so everything got shoved through the Swiss Dots embossing folder. To soften the edges I used Tim Holtz's distress inks.

Here's what it looks like from behind. Very little patterned paper on this card. It's by Stampin' Up! from way back when. Love that cotton lace. Matches the dies cuts too - quite by accident, actually!

Finally, some sheer blue ribbon to tie it all up with a pretty little bow. Pretty dsp - been hoarding saving it for a "special" occasion. I do that a lot - "save" but only things but not money!

Dies

Nellie Snellen Multi Frame Die Dots Hexagon MFD026

Marianne Designs Creatables Poinsettia Straight LR0122

Spellbinders Label 20 S5-026

Inks

Memento Danube Blue

Tim Holts Distress Inks: Faded Jeans, Broken China and Peeled Paint

I'm off to get stuff ready for the party. First on the list is to organise the gift. My obsession with boxes is still going strong - I've got 5 more in the works - yep you read right: F-I-V-E! Oh it's so much fun, you really ought to try it!

Thanks for popping by for a peak. Y'all have a smashing weekend and I'll see you at my next post!

35 comments:

Ok, I'll be the third to say this but honestly... GORGEOUS! Love the beautiful flower with glittery edges and all the frilly lace adorning this pretty box. Thanks for all the close ups and different views - so much better to soak in all the details my dear!

Wow--what a stunning project. I love those poinsettias in blue. I can relate to your friend's complaints. My youngest turned 13 in July, and there have been so many difficulties over the years getting her girlfriends together for her birthday. One year, we didn't celebrate until January!

Beautiful!!And what a fabulous gift...a December birthday!!:)She is so lucky to have a friend like you and will treasure this for sure!And I have to say that the worst birthday to have is 9/11.I haven't "celebrated" for almost 11 years now...it just doesn't seem right so it's always very low key and not such a happy day knowing what it means for so many.

wow this is fantastic and so much work has gone it to it. How thoughtful to make it wintey for your friend-such a different idea and I bet it will be her only winter based pressie! Hope the party was fun-low key is often far more better, time spent with a select few friends x

Oh dear - i think you're holding up just fine by seeing always the good and the bad in everything; i suppose that's how life is. The good of all this? me stumbling across a new WMS friend who's inspiring me with amazing eye candy. That box? Stunning... really truly stunning w/ all the details. You could add 10 more pics and i'd just gawk at the details... ;) have a splendid weekend!

I love your idea of making a hexagon shaped box! You've decorated it so beautifully! I can envision the same design in traditional Christmas colors for a Christmas gift! I spotted your lovely box on MIM.

What an incredibly beautiful gift in every way that a gift can be meaningful! I can't say how touching I found the thought that went into this box - your workmanship is stunning, but your heart for your friend is even more spectacular! I hope she is truly blessed ... I was, just from you sharing!

Asha this is a stunning project. I saw it on MIM and was delighted when I popped by. Thanks also for your lovely comments on my blog this week - you are too kind!Great tutorial too by the way.Stamping Shanni

Gorgeous box, love the colours, lace and the fab poinsettia flower.Thanks for linking up with MIM this weekRemember, to be in the running to win the prize from our sponsor this week just leave a comment for another entry. Be sure to mention you saw them on Make It Monday. The more entries you comment on the more chances you have of winning!Hugs, Sandy

Asha this is just gorgeous. Love the colours and embellishments. All the elements work so well together. I saw this on MIM and just had to pop over to have a closer look. Hope you are having a fab Thursday. Hop on over to Doing Life - for a chance to win some lovely digi stamps from DS4J to the value of 20$.Hugs Desíre Doing LifeDigistamps4Joy DT MemberTammy’s Scrapin Corner DT Member

Gorgeous box Asha it is so elegant and skilfully put together. I'm sure your friend will treasure it, it's such a beautiful keepsake. I saw your project over at MIM and I'm so glad I stopped by to take a closer look - your blog is full of such creative inspiration.Hugs Sheryl xx

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About Me

I live near the sea in Portugal, with my sweet hubby. We have 3 loving furbabies - Peanut, a Doxie-Podengo rescue, Charlie, a yellow Lab rescue and Richard Parker, an all-black boy-cat. Over the years we've lost members of our furry family: André (14), Rosie (13), Snoopy (9), Turtle Joe (27) and Xiara (13). God speaks when tails wag and hearts purr... and how richly He has blessed us!